You will need: KID for Teens: Leader s Guide Believing the Invisible 9. Before you start: By the end of the session, the group members will:

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1 KID for Teens: Leader s Guide Believing the Invisible Before you start: Prayerfully read through the whole lesson at least twice Gather all the materials you need for each section (see right) Work with another team member and plan who will manage each section of the session. Leadership Preparation: Personal Think about a time when you trusted God and your faith was rewarded. How did the experience change your life? How did it strengthen your faith? If the Holy Spirit invites you to do so, be ready to tell your story during the welcome or the conclusion. Otherwise use the inspiration of the story to fill you with enthusiasm for today s session. Pencils, crayons, marker pens (felt tips) Icebreaker: Everyday Faith cards. Copy these onto thin card and cut them apart so that there is one per person and some spares. Table Mission Possible: A blindfold or scarf for each family Create a circuit of at least six different obstacles such as objects to walk around, under, through and over (make sure the course is as safe as possible, but still interesting to negotiate.) Word Search: Copies of Word Search studies 1 study per person People of Faith cards. One character card per person. Copy them onto thin card and cut them apart. Blank paper Family Focus Time: Cups and drinks Family Discussion Cards 1 card per family Praying Together: Make Egg shapes using: Plain typing paper Pencil Scissors Egg Shapes: Fold a sheet of typing paper into quarters and draw onto the paper, the biggest egg shape that will fit in the space. Cut out enough eggs for everyone, with a few extra spares. Jesus and Me (JAM) Session: One set of Jesus and Me Journal Pages per participant Takeaway Menu (optional): Large seeds such as pumpkin seeds one per person. By the end of the session, the group members will: Know that God honours our faith when we take the positive risk of trusting him completely. Feel a desire to trust him with all of our doubts, questions, uncertainties and futures. Respond by trusting a loving God who is working everything out for our best. 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation 2011 TransEuropean Division

2 KID for Teens: Leaders Guide: Believing the Invisible Welcome and Prayer 5 mins Say: Every day we put our trust in all kinds of objects and people. Often we trust in these everyday things without a moment s hesitation. The more often we do something safely, the easier it is to trust the experience. We are more likely to trust an expert than a beginner; a tested machine rather than a new invention; or our logic more than our feelings. Today we are going to explore what it means to have faith and trust in God. Believing in a God we can t see can be one of the biggest challenges to our faith. So how will we deal with it? Ice Breaker 7 mins Mission Possible 15 mins Everyday Faith cards, face down on a table Say: There are lots of cards on this table. On each card is written an object or experience from everyday life that needs a certain amount of faith or trust. Pick up any card and find a partner. Tell each other how much faith you think you need when using that object or when you are involved in that experience. Use a scale of 010, where 0 means that you don t need any faith and 10 means that the object or experience requires you to exercise lots of faith. Remember that the amount of faith needed will be very different for each one of you and that s fine. Just say how much faith you think it takes you and why you think it takes that much faith. Allow 3 minutes for the group to mingle and speak to each other. Then ask two or three people to share their thoughts about the ways in which we continually exercise our faith in our everyday lives. 2. A blindfold or scarf for each family A circuit of at least six different obstacles such as objects to walk around, under, through and over (make sure the course is as safe as possible, but still interesting to negotiate.) Give each family a blindfold and ask them to guide one of their family members through the obstacle course. Stress the importance of safety and taking care of each other. More than one family can use the course at a time as they can follow each other around the obstacles. If someone does not wish to participate they can observe what happens and still share their thoughts. Feedback Questions: What did you learn about faith from being involved in the obstacle course, blindfolded? What enables you to trust another human being? What helps you to trust in God? 2011 TransEuropean Division 2

3 KID for Teens: Leaders Guide: Believing the Invisible Word Search 25/35 mins People of Faith cards one character per person One WordSearch study for each person. Blank paper Pencils For this Bible study, divide your large group into separate parents and teens groups. Aim to keep each group smaller than eight people. Appoint a group leader, for each small group, who will guide the group members through the questions and write down their ideas and responses. Coming Together: Call everyone back to the larger group. Ask each group to share a special insight that emerged from their study. Then invite each group to read out their definition of faith. If you have time, work together as a large group and create a definition of faith that incorporates the ideas of all the smaller groups. Family Focus 10/15 mins Drinks and cups Family Discussion Cards Let everyone reassemble into their family groups, collecting a drink on the way. Give each family a family discussion card to pass around their circle. Each person can discuss a topic or answer one of the questions from the card. They can also pass it to the next person if they would prefer not to speak. 2. Family Prayer Time 15 mins Egg shapes one per person, plus spares. Give each person a piece of paper cut into the shape of an egg. Say: Eggs take a while to develop, just as our prayers of faith sometimes take a while to be answered. Ask each person to write their own, private, short prayer of faith on their eggshaped piece of paper. When everyone in the family has finished writing their eggprayers, place all the eggs face down in the middle of the group. Invite one person to pray for all the eggprayers of faith that have just been written. Ask God to answer your eggprayers and to hatch your hopes. Keep your eggprayers in your journals, or tucked between the pages of your Bible. Check occasionally to see if they have hatched! Notice any signs that your prayer is making a difference and write your observations and thoughts on the back of the eggprayer. Jam Session (Jesus and Me) 5 mins CD player and CD of soft worship music One set of Jesus and Me Journal Pages per participant Give out the Jesus and Me journal pages for this week. Allow at least five minutes for people to make a start on their pages so that they will be encouraged to complete their projects during the week ahead. TakeAway Menu (optional) Large seeds such as pumpkin seeds one per person Give each person a large seed, such as a pumpkin seed. Say: Jesus said that if we have faith as big as a seed, we can move mountains. Invite group to think of different ways they can encourage their faith to grow, like a seed, into a huge plant. Suggest that they keep their seed in their spiritual memory box file or they can plant it and watch it grow. Closing Prayer 2011 TransEuropean Division 3

4 KID for Teens: Handout: Believing in the Invisible: Ice Breaker: Everyday Faith Cards Photocopy these onto thin card (or paper) and cut apart. Make sure that you have more than enough cards for everyone in the group. Flying in an aeroplane Riding in a lift Buying a secondhand car Using electricity Riding on a rollercoaster at a fairground Drinking water from a tap Having a blood transfusion Abseiling down a rockface Giving a lift to or accepting a lift from a stranger Believing that astronauts have really landed on the moon 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation

5 KID for Teens: Handout: Believing in the Invisible: Word Search: People of Faith Cards Photocopy these onto thin card (or paper) and cut apart; one per person. Noah Built a boat on dry land Esther Had the courage to stand against powerful men Rebekah Agreed to marry a man she had never met Peter Walked on water Mary Agreed to be the mother of Jesus Abraham Left his country to follow God David Battled with Goliath the giant Jairus Believed Jesus could heal his daughter Elijah Trusted God to honour his sacrifice in front of the Baal prophets Moses Trusted God to feed his people in a desert 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation

6 KID for Teens: Handout: Believing the Invisible Word Search: Faith Work in twos. Choose a card with the name of a Bible character written on it. Tell your partner what you think helped this person to have amazing faith in God. How does the author of Hebrews describe faith? Hebrews 11:12 2. How do we know that God made the world and everything in it? Hebrews 11:3 3. What two things do we need to do, so that we can receive the reward that God offers us? Hebrews 11:6 4. Read the rest of Hebrews 11 from verse 7 onwards. What do you think verse 3 means? Wonder about this... Which person in the Faith List is your favourite character? Which person in the Faith List is most like you? If you were to give a prize, to the person on the Faith List who showed the most faith, who would you choose to give it to? Who do you think least deserves to be in the Faith List? Why do you think they have been included? 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division

7 KID for Teens: Handout: Believing the Invisible Word Search: Faith Work together as a group and write your own definition of faith. Faith is... When you think about trusting God with your life, what scares you and what encourages you? How do you think God feels when we choose to trust him? In your small group choose one encouraging thought or idea that arose from your discussion. Write it here: Share your thoughts with the other groups when you meet together again. 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division

8 : KID for Teens: Handout: Believing the Invisible: Family Discussion Card Lesson Family Discussion Card I acted in faith and something wonderful happened when... One of the biggest challenges to having faith in God is... If I had more faith in God my life would be different because... If someone said it was stupid to believe in God, I would say... Lesson Family Discussion Card I acted in faith and something wonderful happened when... One of the biggest challenges to having faith in God is... If I had more faith in God my life would be different because... If someone said it was stupid to believe in God, I would say... Lesson Family Discussion Card I acted in faith and something wonderful happened when... One of the biggest challenges to having faith in God is... If I had more faith in God my life would be different because... If someone said it was stupid to believe in God, I would say... Lesson Family Discussion Card I acted in faith and something wonderful happened when... One of the biggest challenges to having faith in God is... If I had more faith in God my life would be different because... If someone said it was stupid to believe in God, I would say Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation

9 Jesus and Me: Journal Lesson Believing the Invisible: Growing in Faith Write down your favourite definition of faith: Name a Bible character who showed great faith. How do you think their faith became so strong? What did their faith enable them to do? How does this person s faith inspire your faith today? If someone like Paul were to write a Faith List that included your name, for what would you want to be listed? 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division

10 Jesus and Me: Journal Lesson Believing the Invisible: Egg Prayer Eggs take a while to hatch, just as our prayers of faith sometimes take a while to be answered. Here is a place to stick the eggprayer that you wrote during your family prayer time, or you can write another eggprayer in the eggshape above. 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division

11 Jesus and Me: Journal Lesson Believing the Invisible: What I Believe Take some time to think about what you, personally, believe. This is not necessarily what your parents believe, or your church believes. This is what you believe, today. Choose the core, or basic beliefs, that you have as a Christian and write them in the first column. List the Biblical evidence for your beliefs in the second column Think about the life experiences you have had, that support these beliefs, and then list them in the third column. Think of the differences these beliefs make to the way you relate to others and how you show them God s love. Write these ideas in the fourth column. What I believe Write out your beliefs in your own words Bible Evidence What Bible verses inspire these beliefs? Life Experience Evidence What evidence have you experienced in your own life that enables you to believe in this? Life Difference What difference does this belief make to the way you relate to other people and the ways in which you show them God s love? 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division

12 Jesus and Me: Journal Lesson Believing the Invisible: What I Believe Prayerfully look at the summary of your beliefs: Where have your beliefs come from and what differences do they make to the way you live your life with others? Are there any gaps in your beliefs? Are there things you have forgotten to include? Are there areas where you need to develop your faith? If you were to prioritise your beliefs, how would you list them in order of importance? If you prefer, gather together ten objects that help to express what you believe, or find ten pictures that illustrate your beliefs. Find a way to share one of your beliefs with a nonchristian in the next week. You could say: I know you don t go to church or anything, but I d like to understand the things you do believe in and the difference they make to your life. Then you may have a chance to share your beliefs and explain them. Perhaps you could start a social network (Facebook etc) message, asking people to list their top ten beliefs. 201 Permission to photocopy or print from the Resource CD for use in your congregation TransEuropean Division